Desolate World: Starting with Novel - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Beyond Perfection
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wang Shuo felt as if he was dancing when he practiced his movement technique.
In the beginning, almost every movement of his seemed forced, like he was trying to mash his joints, bones, and flesh together and coordinate their actions.
Even though it looked fine on the surface, his body felt very stiff.
But this was normal for beginners.
As he practiced diligently, his body would gradually adapt and transform these movements into muscle memory. Then his actions would naturally become smoother.
This was the so-called practice makes perfect.
But Wang Shuo’s powerful Physique allowed him to adapt to everything at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Before long, his joints, muscles, and other tissues began to instinctively coordinate with each other.
…
As time passed, Wang Shuo’s breathing gradually began to rise and fall rhythmically with his movements, clearing up the qi and blood clotting inside his body.
His qi and blood started to flow more smoothly, and the force exerted by his body became smoother and more natural.
Of course, this was not something Wang Shuo figured out himself but was recorded in the Common Basic Movement Technique.
In the technique, other than recording the best postures and methods for exerting force in various situations, it also recorded the breathing techniques complementing each posture.
The breathing techniques alone took up more than half of each page.
At this moment, Wang Shuo had only grasped less than a tenth.
Even so, his control over his strength had improved tremendously.
In the past, his usage of strength was exactly like an ordinary person’s.
But now, he could consciously control the release of his strength by breathing.
As his control over his strength increased, his grasp over various movement techniques grew more and more precise.
At the same time, the accuracy of his postures also increased the practice of breathing techniques.
Unknowingly, Wang Shuo entered a virtuous cycle.
Now, apart from swallowing a Five Grains Pill every now and then, he was wholly focused on training.
On the stone array, the range of Wang Shuo’s movements became smaller and smaller. But his movement technique grew more calm and natural, and his speed also gradually became faster and faster…
[Through your relentless efforts, you successfully grasp the Common Basic Movement Technique.]
[Common Basic Movement Technique (Basic Mastery)]
Grade: Lower Yellow Tier
Description: You have initially grasped the fundamentals of movement techniques.
Suddenly, Wang Shuo saw the figure of a charming woman with a calm temperament dressed in purple clothes.
Standing on the stone array, she looked at ‘him’ and said, “The Dao of Movement Techniques is the Dao of Combat. Our cat demon race’s combat skills are all based on this. Observe!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the charming woman’s hands shook as she drew two scimitars from out of thin air.
With a tap of her toes, her figure instantly shifted sideways.
A bright light forming a cross suddenly flashed in the air. Immediately afterward, the charming woman changed her movements again. Finally, the two blades intersected diagonally and drew a ‘Z’.
Next, the charming woman seemed to transform into an elegant dancer. She was light and swift, and wherever she passed, the sound of air being torn apart rang out, emitting an almost tangible chill.
Her whispering voice drifted through the air from all directions and surrounded Wang Zhuo like a lingering ghost. “Remember, movement techniques are the origin of strength. This is my last lesson for you.”
…
After a long while, Wang Shuo came back to his senses, and a look of enlightenment flashed across his eyes.
With a shake of his hand, the Green Dragon Staff quietly appeared.
As he looked at the stone array, there seemed to be a phantom before his eyes.
The illusory figure held a long staff and leaped into the stone array. His movement technique was ever-changing, and his staff unceasingly changed from a stab to a pierce into a sweep or a slash…
At first, his movement technique and staff technique looked jerky, like a mismatched key jammed into a faulty lock. Either his movement technique was too fast, or his staff technique was too rushed.
Soon, the illusory figure seemed to learn.
He started slowing down his movement technique so that he could better coordinate with his staff technique.
Although this made his staff technique more fluid, the unilateral accommodation made the movement technique more awkward.
Thus, the phantom changed once again. He no longer blindly pursued the perfection of the staff technique but used the same movement technique as before to complement the staff technique instead. He started adapting the staff technique to match the movement technique.
And this change seemed to open a new window for him.
As he executed his various movement techniques, his staff techniques no longer rigidly adhered to the standard moves.
For example, a simple pierce would have different angles, postures, and methods of exerting force.
This kind of change didn’t affect the power of the staff technique. Instead, they complemented each other. While maintaining the original strength, it made the angles of response more flexible and varied.
“‘Movement techniques are the origin of strength’… So that’s what it means!”
Wang Shuo’s eyes instantly regained their clarity.
[Through your relentless efforts, you completely grasp the essence of the Common Basic Movement Technique.]
[Common Basic Movement Technique (Perfection)]
Grade: Lower Yellow Tier
Description: You have thoroughly mastered the fundamentals of movement techniques.
However, Wang Shuo didn’t seem to notice the notification and suddenly leaped out.
At this time, he had already completely shed his previous clumsiness. His basic movement techniques flowed seamlessly like a river.
Unlike the graceful and agile cat demon, his figure was as precise and capable as a cheetah without a trace of unnecessary movements.
Suddenly, the shadow of a staff soared through the sky.
This move was completely different from any of the ones in the Common Basic Staff Technique.
It was like the provoke and pierce moves at the same time.
But this was only the beginning.
As Wang Shuo’s movement technique grew increasingly agile, the moves of his staff gradually broke free of the realm of mere basic staff techniques.
Sometimes, a single move contained two or three variations of other moves; sometimes, there was only half a move…
He was like an unrestrained horse, unpredictable and untamed.
The subtleties aside, his improvements were visible to the naked eye.
However, Wang Shuo felt discomfort all over his body.
After devouring one Five Grains Pill after another, he finally found the reason.
He could feel that his comprehension of basic staff techniques had made another breakthrough.
But pure comprehension couldn’t transform into actual combat power.
Only after his basic movement techniques reached perfection did he thoroughly understand the meaning of the word ‘basic’.
The so-called ‘basic’ meant that there was no threshold for entry.
For example, the Common Basic Staff Technique was simply a set of ordinary staff moves. And in terms of strength, posture, and other requirements, even an ordinary person without any martial arts foundation could master it through long-term, arduous practice.
Similarly, this applied to basic movement techniques too.
By practicing basic movement techniques, even a normal person could exert strength with a perfect posture from any angle.
But his comprehension of staff techniques had already surpassed ‘basic staff techniques’ and reached an even higher level.
Advanced staff techniques were certainly more powerful, but the requirements for the method of exerting force were also more exacting.
His level of improvement had already exceeded the limits of the Common Basic Movement Technique.
The ordinary methods of exerting force for an average person were already unable to meet the needs of Wang Shuo’s new comprehension of staff techniques.
Of course, this comprehension was not wholly useless.
Although there were no changes to the Common Basic Staff Technique in terms of attributes, Wang Shuo himself understood that in terms of technique, he was at least one level stronger than before.
More importantly, it made him understand that ‘perfection’ was only the upper limit of a technique, not the upper limit of his skill execution.
It was precisely—No technique is good or bad, only the person using it is!
